Of course, as horseback riders, we know the importance of
where we look. If you’ve ever taken a
lesson with me you’ve heard it at least three times. You go where you look. If you look down, you’re headed over your
horse’s ears. If you look around the
corner to your jump, you’ll find a good spot.
If you keep your eyes soft and aware of the other riders around you, you
won’t end up body checking your best friend with your 1000 pound equine. Looking where you want to go when riding is
as essential as wearing your helmet.
Never missing an opportunity to talk horses, I explained to
my boss that the phenomenon he observed while riding motorcycles, was actually
pretty common. Not only with horses, but
skiing, snowboarding, sailing, driving, you get the idea.
My boss is a wise man.
I should have seen him steering the conversation from the very beginning. Like a master chess player, he was looking
four moves ahead when he started talking about motorcycles. By starting my brain down the right path, he
was able to sit back while I came to the conclusion he intended from the beginning. The key is where you’re looking, not just in
sports, but in all of life.
At work, if we’re always looking at what we can’t do or what
we have to do to get by, we never see the possibility of what we’re capable
of. The cannot’s and have to’s cloud the
potential horizon.
Lately I’ve been very focused on all the obstacles and not
how to overcome them. I know from
jumping that staring down the intimidating fence isn’t going to get me safely
over it. We have to plan our approaches,
think and ride positively and keep those eyes focused on the far side. We can do the same with the obstacles facing us
in life. It isn’t really a Fresh
Perspective, just a repurposed one.
“It may be hard for an egg to turn into a bird. It would be a jolly sight harder for it to
learn to fly while remaining an egg. We
are like eggs at present. And you cannot
go on indefinitely being just an ordinary, decent egg. We must be hatched or go bad.”- C.S. Lewis
It’s time to break the shell that’s been caging me. I’ve been riding Nutmeg in the morning to
beat the heat and beat the exhaustion I always feel after work. Admiral has been working in the evenings,
since it’s much easier to find the motivation to long line than ride. Fingers are crossed. The husband has been making motions toward
riding again. We cleaned the cobwebs out
of his helmet last night. Maybe more
than one shell is preparing to crack.
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